Training pad

ABSTRACT

A training pad, which is a planar pad having a surface and a bottom surface, and which comprises of two or several pad units, whereby at each time two pad units can be folded against each other by a hinge point connecting them, in which the hinge is a groove, the angles of the cross section of which groove exceed 90 degrees and in which hinge point the material thickness at the bottom of the groove is 1-1.6 mm.

This application claims benefit of Finnish Utility Model Application No. U20134059, filed 11 Mar. 2013, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Disclosed herein is a training pad equipped with a folding mechanism, which folding mechanism enables the folding of the pad units of the training pad against each other.

The training pad is used for training different ball sports and handling skills of sports equipment. The training pad is particularly used for training shooting in ice hockey and furthermore for training general puck handling skills. The slippery surface of the training pad creates more realistic training conditions as the surface of the training pad matches the ice conditions considerably better than the traditionally used plywood and chipboard pads. The slippery surface of the pad also reduces wearing of the sticks

2. Description of Related Art

Known training pad are planar continuous boards. A problem related to known training pads is their size. As the size of the training pad increases moving, handling and storing them becomes problematic.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment described herein, the problems caused by the increase in size of the training pad are eliminated by a folding mechanism of the training pad. With the aid of the folding mechanism the training pad can be folded into a smaller size, making moving, handling and storing thereof easier.

In an embodiment described herein, a hinge point functions as the folding mechanism of the training pad dividing the planar pad into pad units or sub pads. The hinge in the hinge point is a groove, the angles of the cross-section of the groove exceed 90 degrees, whereby no large tension is created in the folding angles when folding the pad. Consequently the folding angle remains intact and no tension cracks are created. Advantageously, the greatest width on the surface level of this pad is in the same range as the thickness of the entire pad, e.g., 5 mm is the greatest width of the groove for a 5 mm thick pad. The cross-section of the hinge of the groove is advantageously V-shaped. The cross-section can also be U-, W- or X-shaped.

The thickness of the hinge point also affects the foldability and flexibility of the pad. If the thickness of the hinge point is too small, the joint is not durable. If the thickness of the hinge point is too great, the foldability of the pad units becomes stiff, consequently making folding the pad more difficult, and a folded pad will not remain in transporting position but is twisted open, thereby even causing cracks and reducing the durability of the joint. The folding mechanism of the training pad also functions in freezing conditions, although the material used for the training pad hardens in cold conditions. The material thickness for the hinge point at the bottom of the groove is 1-1.6 mm, advantageously 1.3 mm.

The training pad in an embodiment described herein comprises of two or several pad units, of which two pad units at each time can be folded against each other by the hinge point connecting them. Thus, the large sized training pad can be folded into a smaller size, whereby moving, handling and storing it is easier. Advantageously, there are two hinge points, whereby the training pad comprises of three pad units, which are folded against each other to about one pad unit in size.

In an embodiment described herein, the training pad has at least two openings for carry handles going through the pad, which facilitate moving and handling the pad. The openings for carry handles are located on the same straight line on one long side of the pad equally spaced and they are located in the middle of edge at the end of the pad unit. The openings for carry handles are concentric when folding the pad. There are advantageously as many openings for carry handles as pad units.

In an embodiment disclosed herein, a rubbery passing band has detachably been fastened to the training pad, which passing band is fastened to the pad by posts having an adjusting mechanism for the tightness of the rubber band. Shooting a moving puck, puck handling skills and receiving a pass can be trained with the aid of the passing band. The passing band has advantageously been detachably fastened to the edge at one end of the pad.

The characteristics of a training pad according to an embodiment of the invention are more precisely below; in particular, an embodiment relates to a training pad (1), which is a planar pad having a surface (6) and a bottom surface, and which comprises of two or several pad units (3), whereby at each time two pad units (3) can be folded against each other by a hinge point (2) connecting them, in which the hinge is a groove (5), the angles of the cross section of which groove exceed 90 degrees and in which hinge point (2) the material thickness at the bottom of the groove (5) is 1-1.6 mm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the invention are described by way of example by reference to the enclosed figures, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically shows a training pad according to an embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 schematically shows the cross section of the groove of the hinge in the training pad which is advantageously V-shaped,

FIG. 3 shows schematically the cross section of the groove of the hinge in the training pad which is U-shaped,

FIG. 4 shows schematically the cross section of the groove of the hinge in the training pad which is W-shaped,

FIG. 5 shows schematically the cross section of the groove of the hinge in the training pad which is X-shaped,

FIG. 6 shows schematically folding of the training pad, and

FIG. 7 shows schematically a training pad according to an embodiment of the invention to which a rubbery passing band has been fastened.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

In the example of an embodiment according to the invention as shown in FIG. 1 the folding of the training pad 1 is realized by way of two folding mechanisms of the training pad. The hinge point 2 functions as a folding mechanism dividing the planar pad into pad units 3. Furthermore, the training pad 1 has three openings for carry handles 4 going through the pad. The openings 4 for carry handles are located on the same straight line on one long side of the pad equally spaced and they are located in the middle of the edge at the end of the pad units 3. The number of the openings 4 for carry handles 4 and the pad units 3 is advantageously the same.

The FIGS. 2-5 show the hinge point 2, in which the hinge is the groove 5. The groove 5 divides the planar pad of the training pad 1 into smaller pads 3. The angles of the cross section of the groove 5 exceed 90 degrees, whereby too great a tension is avoided in the folding angles as the pad of the training pad is folded. Advantageously, the greatest width d1 of the groove 5 at the surface level 6 of the pad is in the same range as the thickness d2 of the entire pad. The material thickness d3 of the hinge point 2 at the bottom groove 5 is 1-1.6 mm, advantageously 1.3 mm. The most advantageous cross section of the groove 5 shown in FIG. 2 is V-shaped. In this embodiment the requirement of over 90 degrees has been met by a widened V-shaped cross section having the length d4 at the bottom of the groove 5 and two folding angles. In a completely V-shaped cross section in which there is no width at the bottom of the groove 5 and one folding angle, an angle smaller than 90 degrees is easily created which might cause too great a tension when folded in the folding angle.

Alternative cross sections are shown in FIGS. 3-5 which can be U-, W- or X-shaped, respectively. An X-shaped cross section also has a groove 5 on the inside of the fold, in which case it must be taken into account that the width of bottom of the groove 5 has a certain minimum length d5, as otherwise the adjacent corners hit each other too early and the pad is not completely folded against each other.

The FIG. 6 shows an embodiment according to the invention of the folding of the training pad 1. The training pad comprises of three pad units 3, of which at each time two pad units 3 can be folded against each other by the hinge point 2 connecting them. Thus, the size of the training pad is altered to a deck of about one pad unit 3 in size. There are advantageously two hinge points 2, whereby the training pad comprises of three pad units. The openings 4 for the carry handles are concentric when the pad is folded.

The FIG. 7 shows a training pad 1, to which a rubbery passing band has detachably been fastened. The passing band 7 is fastened to the pad using posts 8, having an adjusting mechanism for the tightness of the passing band 7. In the embodiment according to FIG. 7, the passing band is detachably fastened to one edge at the end of the training pad, but the passing band 7 can also be fastened to other parts, as well, and there can be several passing bands.

It should be noted with regard to the embodiment according to the invention presented in the figures and described above that it should not be construed as limiting the invention in any way. It is apparent to someone skilled in the art in view of the present specification to modify and adjust the embodiment presented in the figures in various ways. The scope of protection of the invention is determined solely according to what is defined in the enclosed claims. 

1. A training pad comprising a planar pad having a first surface and a bottom surface separated by a thickness, and which comprises two or more pad units, wherein at least two pad units are connected by a hinge and can be folded against each other by the hinge point connecting them, wherein the hinge comprises a groove, wherein the angles of a cross section of the groove exceed 90 degrees and wherein the groove has a material thickness at a bottom thereof of 1-1.6 mm.
 2. The training pad according to claim 1, further at least two openings for carry handles, which openings extend through the thickness of the pad and adapted for moving the pad, which openings for carry handles are concentric when the pad is folded.
 3. The training pad according to claim 2, wherein the opening for the carry handles is located in the middle of an edge at an end of the pad unit, wherein the openings for the carry handles are located on a same straight line of one long side of the pad, and are equally spaced from each other.
 4. The training pad according to claim 1, wherein the cross section of the groove is V-, U-, W- or X-shaped.
 5. The training pad according to claim 1, further comprising a detachably fastened rubbery passing band, which is fastened to the pad by posts, which have an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the tightness of the passing band.
 6. The training pad according to claim 1, wherein surface of the training pad is sufficiently slippery that surface of the training pad matches ice conditions in which the pad is used. 